MINSK, 27 January (BelTA) – The most important aim of commemorating the Holocaust is to emphasize the moral, political, and social meaning of the call “Never Again”, Belarus Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Dapkiunas told journalists on 27 January as he took part in an event marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz in the Polish city of Oswiecim, BelTA has learned.
“Fifteen years and three days ago I represented Belarus at the special session of the UN General Assembly celebrating the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi concentration camps. Nine months after the session, International Holocaust Remembrance Day was established,” Andrei Dapkiunas stressed. “I am proud that Belarus was among the initiators and co-authors of this landmark decision of the UN General Assembly,” he added.
Andrei Dapkiunas noted that at the session he spoke about “white spots in the history of the Holocaust tragedy”. “I believe that most of those who are here today did not know that Trostenets, the largest Nazi death camp in the territory of the Soviet Union where more than 200,000 innocent people were killed, ranks fourth after Auschwitz, Majdanek, and Treblinka in terms of the number of victims. This camp could not be liberated because the Nazis destroyed it before the Red Army got there,” Andrei Dapkiunas said.
He stressed the importance of participation of Belarus' representatives in commemorative events: Chairman of the House of Representatives Vladimir Andreichenko took part in a wreath laying ceremony in the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum in Israel and Deputy Chairman of the Council of the Republic Anatoly Isachenko participated in commemorative events in Auschwitz. “We not only pay tribute to victims among the Jewish nation. We also show our pain. The Holocaust is the pain not only of the Jewish nation, but also of Belarus,” Andrei Dapkiunas noted.
He also mused about the meaning of paying tribute to the Holocaust victims. “Is it only preserving our historical memory? Passing the memory on to younger generations? Keeping appearances? I believe that the most important aim of commemorating the Holocaust is to emphasize the moral, political, and social meaning of the call ‘Never Again',” he said.
“Earlier I tended to understand this slogan as a fact: the terror of the Holocaust should never happen again,” Andrei Dapkiunas said. “Today, unfortunately, I have to see this call as a burning issue, a challenge that still faces the humanity. The response to this challenge demands continuous work,” he noted. He also added that this requires everyday efforts to fight racial and ethnic hatred, religious intolerance both from common people and high-ranking state officials.
“This call requires our meaningful collective action based on the heart-to-heart memory of the Holocaust tragedy,” Andrei Dapkiunas noted.
Photos by Ramil Nasibulin
